Floor 502
by Amysz3
Summary: It's been five years since Nardole, Hazran and the children escaped to floor 502 of the Mondasian colony ship. Alit is tormented by memories of the past, and Gazron can't let go of her dreams of leaving the ship. Little do they know, their world is about to be torn apart forever.
1. Fading Stars

The kitchen door creaks as I venture into the hallway of the little cabin, and I wince at the sound. I sense someone behind me, and sigh. Of course Hazran would see me. I attempt to hide the mugs I am holding underneath my coat, and quickly abandon when I realise that is never going to work. "Have you seen Gazron?" she asks me.

"Nope," I reply. Strictly speaking, that isn't a lie. I haven't seen her today. At least not yet.

"Really. Hmm." I glance down at the two mugs in my hands sheepishly. "Tell her I want to talk to her," she says sternly, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Not sure whether to nod or attempt an excuse, I simply give her a cheeky grin and dash out the door.

"Hey, Gaz." I push the leaves aside to see her, perched on a log, smiling expectantly.

"Hey, Alit." I hand her one of the mugs and she takes it gratefully. A moment of silence passes, each of us relishing the warmth in our hands amidst the chill of the forest. Gazron sighs and pushes a strand of light brown hair from her face. "Is Hazran still looking for me?" she asks tentatively.

"Yeah, unfortunately."

"Dammit." An edge of frustration creeps into her voice. "Why is she always picking on me?"

"She says you keep scaring the little kids."

"Yeah, I know what she _says._ But I don't get why she doesn't want me to tell them about the cybermen."

"Most of them don't remember floor 507. We should try to keep it that way."

"We shouldn't forget. Not after everyone we left down there-"

Her words slip into the background as their image swims before me. Impassive, unrelenting, empty. And Bill, emotion stripped from her words, but she's dead now and they're coming to make me like her she's dead she's dead she's dead –

"Alit!" Gazron's hand is on my shoulder, and I bury my head in her arms, breathing in her familiar scent, breathe in, breathe out like she taught me, until I feel safe once more, and all is still. "I'm sorry," she's saying, repeating the phrase over and over again. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry, I know you still have nightmares, I shouldn't be talking about this again-"

"It's fine." I cut her off, "You're right. We shouldn't forget."

Gazron chews her lip uncertainly. "I don't know. Maybe it would be better."

"Gaz, just a minute ago you were all pissed with Hazran for thinking that."

"I know, but-" she looks down. "I hate to see you hurting." For a moment I can see it, written all over her face, just how much she cares about me. And it breaks my heart.

Then she puts her wall back up, and the moment passes. She draws in a shuddering breath. "Are the nightmares-" she hesitates- "are they really that bad?"

"Yes," I admit after a pause. "I know it's been years, I know I should be getting over it, but I can't stop wondering- you know- how long we have."

"Nardole doesn't seem to know. But a while yet, I think."

"Guess we just wait here until then." There's no reply. "Right?"

"Alit…" An inexplicable wave of dread washes over me. "You know what Nardole told us about floor 1?"

"The machine the doc-" The name catches in my throat as the memories flash at the back of my mind- "The machine that Nardole came here in….?"

"Yeah. Well… I've been thinking, and if we could get up there-"

"We can't leave this floor, Gazron. The further up the ship we go, the less time we have to live."

"But think, Alit. If we can only get to there, we can leave this spaceship. Go anywhere."

I eye her uncertainly. Leaving this floor, let alone the spaceship, seems impossible. I look out across the landscape. This is all I've ever known. Fields, cabins and the ever-present fear of the cybermen. But staring into Gazron's eyes, they are alive with the stars, and mad dreams of freedom. I am mesmerized. And, for some reason, scared. "I have something to show you." She stretches out her hand and smiles at me. And not knowing what it may mean, I take it.

It's evening now as the trees rush past. I'm not quite sure how Gazron managed to steal a horse without anybody noticing, but if anyone could do it, it's her. She's steering, navigating across the landscape with ease, and I sense she's done this many times before. This is further away from the lift than I've ever been, further than I've ever dreamed to go. Hazran and Nardole are probably going crazy with worry right now - but it suddenly all seems so far away.

We've been travelling so long, the trees and fields and lakes seem to all merge into one. But on the horizon, I can see a glimpse of metal. Metal?

Metal bodies and metal feet stomping and empty eyes-

The horse slows to a halt and I am jolted back to the present. I slide down from the animal's back, stumbling a little as my feet find the ground. I can scarcely believe what is in front of me. There's a sheet of silver slicing through the forest, stretching further than I can see on either side, and fading into the sky above. Gazron walks over to a large opening in the wall, a window I think, looking through with awe on her face. I join her-

And my breath is stolen away from me.

I've always known we were on a spaceship, but it had always been one of those facts of life that was simply there, that I just accepted. When Nardole came, it took on a little more meaning, when he explained the time distortion and Mondas and the black hole. Except I never really thought about what it meant. To me, the concept of endless space, the idea of a whole universe outside never seemed real. But now I can see it all.

The distance we have travelled shrinks to nothing compared to the endless lights dancing in front of me. Is Mondas out there somewhere? How many people are out there living their lives? Would they be look, feel, live like us? Questions and emotions and possibilities flit through my mind, infinity staring me in the face, and it overwhelms me, tears my mind apart.

It's beautiful.

Silently, I take Gazron's hand. We stand there together as the sunlight fades and night draws in. I'd always thought that the dusk here was beautiful, but now I see it for what it is. Artificial, flat, lifeless. I am fixated on the window, lost in the starlight. I think back to Gazron's words. "We can leave the spaceship. Go anywhere." Suddenly, I can see why she would risk everything for that.

Go anywhere. I can't comprehend it, I can't even begin to try. I tear my eyes from the window. "Are we going back?" I ask Gazron, unsure of what I want the answer to be. She brushes a strand of hair from my eyes. "Not yet," she whispers. "We'll stay here until morning." We settle down alongside each other, curled up amidst the grassy floor. It's strangely comforting, feeling the warmth of her body next to mine, hearing the rhythmic inhaling, exhaling of her breath. It reminds me that I'm not alone.

There are no nightmares tonight.

Sunlight forces its way under my eyelids, and I groan. My back is stiff, I can't feel one of my legs, and my side is frozen. As poetic as it felt last night, sleeping on the ground outside probably wasn't the best idea. I raise my head groggily and look up, bleary-eyed. Gaz is feeding the horse, patting its forehead and murmuring softly to it. She looks up as I haul myself off the ground. "Morning, Alit."

"Morning."

Gaz straightens up. "We should probably get going soon. Face Hazran's wrath." She smiles in defiance, somewhat unconvincingly.

I take one last look at the window, still numb to the sheer scale of what I am looking at. "Can we come back soon?"

"Of course," Gazron is facing stubbornly away from the window, head tilted unnaturally to avoid being captivated by the view once again. "Let's go." There's a pang of regret underneath the indifference she's trying so hard to maintain. Then she helps me up onto the back of the horse, and start our journey back.

I'm trying so hard to forget about all the worries, but they still gnaw away at me. Hazran's furious and disappointed voice is plaguing my imagination. We're about fifteen minutes away now, and I try to let go of my apprehensiveness. I lean backwards into Gaz, her arms around me as she holds tight to the reins. I have such a strong urge to just ask her if we can go back, stay out there forever, just us - but my rational side won't let me. Instead I savour the moment I am in now, pressed up against her body, for once feeling safe; feeling wanted.

We're 10 minutes away when we hear the screech of an alarm.

The sound seems to awaken a deep-rooted terror in me, an unshakeable dread crawling into my stomach. My mind goes numb, thoughts and logic and decisions slowing to crawl. "Shit," I hear Gazron choke out behind me, panic seizing her as I sit in disbelief. This isn't happening. It's not meant to be now. Not for years, decades even. But that alarm can only be sounding for one reason.

The cybermen are coming.


	2. Leaving Genesis

The ground rushes underfoot at an alarming speed, but it still doesn't seem fast enough. I want to help somehow, help us both survive; but instead I find myself useless, trusting Gazron to get us through this. I don't know how long we have until they arrive – hours, minutes, seconds. Not long enough.

The fields are the same fields I've walked every day of my life, and I'm still finding it hard to accept that anything's changed. How can the cyberman be coming already? We were meant to have years. We were meant to have a lifetime. I look at the landscape flashing by. Somehow it seems so much more precious now it's the last time I may see it. Last night I dreamt of escaping this world and touching the stars; tomorrow morning I'll be happy if I'm alive.

My heart is in my mouth as the horse's feet rush across the grass. Each second it falters could mean the end of our lives. We're a couple of minutes' ride away from the main cabin, where all the defences are centred, at most now. I search the fields ahead in desperation, eyes watering in the wind, there's a little shimmer right in front of us, a slight distortion I barely notice-

And a cybermen steps out from empty air.

The horse stumbles in shock, scrambling to find its footing- It falls and I hit the ground-

The breath is knocked out of me- I gasp for air- struggle to my feet-

I see the cyberman- its empty eyes impassive-

It raises its arm-

Something collides with my side and I go flying behind the horse, landing hard. The pain takes over for a second as blackness crawls at the edge of my vision. I force a quivering breath and look up. The animal's pitiful whinnies are faltering as its head lolls to the floor. Fire fills my vision as Gazron shoots - the cyberman reels backwards, spluttering as its arm drops to its side, and stumbles to the ground. I glance down at the carcass just below my eyeline, and quickly jerk my eyes back up as vomit rises in my throat. Did Gazron need to get it killed? Did she really?

She grabs my arm and I turn sharply to her. She's calm, collected, more than I could ever be. She's overcome her panic, pushed it back until it rages only in her eyes. "We need to go," she says, her tone clipped and commanding. She's still holding her gun, the gun Nardole insisted we always carry in a rucksack around with us. I'd always thought that was a stupid rule; but stupid or not, it just saved our lives.

Gazron takes my hand and we run, a quiet resentment simmering in my mind. She doesn't need to be looking after me, I can look after myself. So why am I helpless, paralyzed, why am I standing by as she saves me time and time again? Her hand holds tightly for mine as my gratitude wars with my pride, and I attempt to keep up with her. I can see the main cabin now, looking strangely vulnerable now. There's meant to be defences, defences nothing get through, nobody – _Of course. They're waiting for us._

Suddenly I feel a sudden heat rush past me, millimetres from my skin. I risk a glance over my shoulder, knowing what I'll see but looking anyway. Another cyberman. An advance guard? Who knows. _Come on, Nardole. Just a few more seconds._

The distance between us and relative safety seems to stretch. If Nardole looks out of the window now, his finger on the switch, what will he see? The two girls running for their lives that he could save? Or the cyberman, marching relentlessly on their heels, that he should be protecting everyone else from?

I push myself forward, feet scrambling for grip as I run faster than I have ever run before. The cyberman is right behind us, about to fire again, I know it, but there's no time to look back- 20 metres to go- 15-

I feel a scorching sensation running along my back, and turn to see a sheet of fire leaping up where we were a mere second ago. The cyberman, it's momentum too much to resist, comes crashing through the flames, a terrible blackness crawling up its armour, claiming it. It crashes to the floor, whatever life it had bleeding out. I feel safer now the defences are up, now we have more time, and crouch cautiously over it. I stare into its eyes. Surely there must be something alive left in it? A shot fires from behind me and hits it in the chest, and it convulses one last time. Dead. Again, I stood by, indecisive, curious, as somebody else did what was necessary. I sigh and shake the thought from my head. Now is not the time for bitterness and self-loathing.

We enter the cabin, the door clanging shut behind us. Hazran comes flying towards us, enveloping us in a hug. She's relieved we're back. She's also fuming. "How dare you, how DARE you just go missing?! You could have been _killed_ , you could have been shut out, did you even _think-"_ Gaz pushes her aside and Hazran watches her go into the kitchen in disbelief. She turns back to me, her mouth opening again for another round of scolding. I'm too tired for this. "I'm sorry," I say vacantly as I follow Gazron, "I'm sorry."

Inside the kitchen, there is quiet at last.

Nardole is looking intently at the laptop, Gazron by his side. Voice lowered, she is arguing with him, to no avail judging by the look on her face. "It's not possible," Nardole says wearily.

"It must be. We could at least try."  
"The cybermen would have years and years to stop us before we arrived at the top floor. It would be suicide."

"There must be a different way, something you haven't thought of- "  
"Gazron. Do you not think I've been trying to find a way for us to get off this damn ship since the day I arrived?! There is NO WAY TO GET TO THE TARDIS." 

Gazron slumps into one of the chairs, and sighs. "I'll think of something," she says defiantly, her voice a little strained. "You do that," Nardole says as he gets back to working the defences, and seems to notice me for the first time. "Alit, can you get Hazran in here." I do so and she goes up to Nardole, while eyeing Gaz and I reproachfully.

He turns to her. "We're using the plan we discussed." She nods, her eyes slightly glistening, lips pressed together into a thin line.

"Hazran, you know I have to stay here, we discussed this."

"I know. I understand." Her tone is emotionless, words carefully picked to convey an air of indifference. But her gaze betrays her.

Nardole moves closer to her, speaking with a gentleness I rarely see in him. "I'll try to come and join you on floor 500. I promise I will." Their eyes both wander to Hazran's ever-so-slightly protruding belly. "But if I don't- "

Gazron motions to me, and we slip out of the door. And few minutes later, Hazran emerges, taking charge, refusing to look back at the kitchen. "Down to the lifts," she calls, and everyone follows her. They climb into the lifts, and I hang back a little. I squeeze into one of the almost full ones, and motion for Gazron to join me.

She shakes her head, just a little. "I am _not_ spending the rest of my life on a farm."

Dread washes over me as I realise what she means. "No- you can't- Gazron-" It doesn't feel real. The last few people are piling into the lifts now. I know we don't have much time.

"Don't worry. I know what to do. I'll see you again. I promise." The same empty vow Nardole gave to Hazran. I try to leave the lift, but she pushes me back. "Alit, please don't. I need you with them.

"You don't. You're lying."  
"Well, maybe I am. But _if_ this goes wrong, I don't want you in danger."

"I'm not just _leaving_ you!"

"If I survive, if my plan works, I'll come and find you. I swear."

"And if it doesn't?"

She just looks at me. A look that breaks my heart. Everyone's in the lift now, everyone but Gazron. They're controlled from upstairs, from Nardole's laptop. There's no time to get him to stop now, not without other people risking being left behind. My mind races to decide. I just stand there, paralyzed. _Come on, Alit._ I don't want to die. I don't want Gazron to die. But being with her, is that going to help? I always seem to end up hindering her.

If I go up there now, she could be dead in the blink of an eye. And if that happened, what would I do? Could I live up there? She's my best friend. But something else, something more…

There's a beeping sound, a last warning- There are murmurs of alarm behind me as people realise Gazron isn't getting in-

She suddenly looks so fragile, standing there alone. I've always seen her as someone permanent, robust, somebody who would survive anything. But given what she's up against, that confidence is suddenly washed away. Everything is clicking into place, becoming clear, too late. I have one choice. _Die with her. Or live without her._ My mind is numb, this can't be happening! The beeping is more insistent now-

It's the last moment we will ever have. _Her last chance._ And she says it, throat constricted, eyes brimming with panic. The sentence that decides the rest of my life.

"I love you." 

I step through the lift's closing doors, and press my lips to hers.


End file.
